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A review by nothingforpomegranted
Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O'Neal
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This was fun and enjoyable, but also pretty stupid, and I felt like the majority of the tension happened and was resolved in the first thirty percent of the book.
Priya is a sophomore at Stanford on medical leave from her premed degree after being diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease. Lonely and frustrated by her condition and by her status as a young adult stuck in her childhood home, Priya relies on Tumblr to develop a new sense of community, and she befriends Brigid, who introduces her to a group of other users who decide to create a support group for the chronically ill. The story is told in a mix of first-person narrative and chat exchanges, and it is impressive how much personality O’Neal manages to communicate in just a few lines of typed dialogue for the most of the characters in the novel.
When Brigid goes offline and out of touch after posting a dramatic entry about how sick of everything she is, Priya gets worried and, Lyme be damned, decides to drive to Pennsylvania from New Jersey to check in on her friend. Turns out, the chronic illness Brigid has been so cagey about is lycanthropy—Brigid is a werewolf. Priya finds her in her wolffish state and manages to feed her and calm her until Spencer from Animal Control arrives, and they both discover Brigid the girl groggy on the bathroom floor.
The rest of the story proceeds with the development of Priya, Spencer, and Brigid’s friendship, especially as they run around town trying to keep Brigid’s identity under wraps as she turns more and more frequently, creating local lore all based on sightings of the creature. This part became pretty repetitive, and, though I enjoyed the development of Priya and Spencer’s friendship and banter, as well as the bricks of the people in the chat group, I think the book definitely could have been about fifty percent shorter.
Priya is a sophomore at Stanford on medical leave from her premed degree after being diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease. Lonely and frustrated by her condition and by her status as a young adult stuck in her childhood home, Priya relies on Tumblr to develop a new sense of community, and she befriends Brigid, who introduces her to a group of other users who decide to create a support group for the chronically ill. The story is told in a mix of first-person narrative and chat exchanges, and it is impressive how much personality O’Neal manages to communicate in just a few lines of typed dialogue for the most of the characters in the novel.
When Brigid goes offline and out of touch after posting a dramatic entry about how sick of everything she is, Priya gets worried and, Lyme be damned, decides to drive to Pennsylvania from New Jersey to check in on her friend. Turns out, the chronic illness Brigid has been so cagey about is lycanthropy—Brigid is a werewolf. Priya finds her in her wolffish state and manages to feed her and calm her until Spencer from Animal Control arrives, and they both discover Brigid the girl groggy on the bathroom floor.
The rest of the story proceeds with the development of Priya, Spencer, and Brigid’s friendship, especially as they run around town trying to keep Brigid’s identity under wraps as she turns more and more frequently, creating local lore all based on sightings of the creature. This part became pretty repetitive, and, though I enjoyed the development of Priya and Spencer’s friendship and banter, as well as the bricks of the people in the chat group, I think the book definitely could have been about fifty percent shorter.